English Theater

National Book Award nominee and five-time Spur Award-winner Loren D. Estleman is widely considered one of America's finest Western authors. In this riotous and action-packed tale of Old West high jinks, a band of thieves posing as a traveling theater troupe runs afoul of a clever Pinkerton agent.

In Tinder Box, Tony Hatch, former CBS reporter and Emmy Award winner, tells the Iroquois story as it has never been told before. In a rush to open the theater on time, corners were cut, and the Iroquois lacked the most basic fire-fighting equipment: sprinklers, fire alarm boxes, backstage telephone, exit signs, and functioning asbestos curtain. Some exits, for aesthetic reasons, were hidden behind heavy draperies, doors opened inward, and exterior fire escapes were unfinished.

The abolitionist legacies of Orville Brown and his son, Spencer, live on in this historic and daring 19th-century account. Journeying apart from each other, but with similar passion, Orville and Spencer's stories span virtually every major abolitionist event: from the battles of Bleeding Kansas and the establishment of the free-soil movement to the river wars of Memphis, Vicksburg, and Shiloh. Listeners will follow Orville west as he strikes out for Kansas Territory to help ensure its entry as a free state.

Ava Lee has lost everything there is to lose: Her parents. Her best friend. Her home. Even her face. She doesn't need a mirror to know what she looks like - she can see her reflection in the eyes of everyone around her. But when Ava meets a fellow survivor named Piper, she begins to feel like maybe she doesn't have to face the nightmare alone. Sarcastic and blunt, Piper isn't afraid to push Ava out of her comfort zone. Piper introduces Ava to Asad, a boy who loves theater just as much as she does, and slowly, Ava tries to create a life again. Yet Piper is fighting her own battle.

Rockhard Thicke is a prolific LGBTQ+ author that transports his listeners to other worlds. One can enjoy Rockhard Thicke's stories and vicariously live through the characters that he creates.

In Take You Wherever You Go, Kenny Leon reflects on the pillars of wisdom he learned every step of the way from the most important people in his life - from his grandmother's sagacious and encouraging motivations to the steady hand of his mother to the deep artistic and social influence of iconic American playwright August Wilson. Take You Wherever You Go is a poignant, ruminative, and inspirational memoir that empowers you to be true to yourself as you navigate your own path.

Ben Riller is the most successful producer on Broadway, but his newest production is in danger of closing before it opens. In his stressed-out condition, Ben is hearing the voice of his long-dead father, and they're having a running argument about life, love, and other people's money.

George Chakiris famously played the angry gang leader Bernardo in the film version of West Side Story (1961), for which he won an Oscar for best supporting actor. My West Side Story is an insider's look at how this theatrical and cinematic landmark evolved from a conversation in Jerome Robbins's Manhattan apartment between him, Arthur Laurents, and Leonard Bernstein to ten Oscars, three Golden Globes, two Tony Awards, and a Grammy.

After Olive Preiss freezes during a theater camp audition, she flees in despair. She finds herself at Maudeville, a beautiful old theater that she's never noticed before. She enters, goes onstage, and sings her song. "Thank you for that lovely audition, darling," comes a voice from the shadows. "I believe I have just the part for you."

All seems well in the city on Pinchester, but trouble is brewing at the Varmint Theater. Before he knows it, Hermux is hired not only to investigate a mysterious blackmailer, but to design the set for an upcoming show. As Hermux enters the dizzying world of the theater he finds himself in a whirlwind of distractions, among them an accidental foray into reality theater and trying to fight off sexy film director Brinx Lotelle's shameless interest in Hermux's girlfriend Linka.

Free-spirited Elizabeth Foster turned her back on her father's photography business — and her faith — to pursue musical theater instead. Now, with a one-show contract, Liz is a few weeks away from unemployment forcing her back home when a chance encounter in the theater lobby resurrects her childhood dream of a life behind the camera. Meanwhile, sought-after photographer Ryan Callahan has put his freelance career on hold to help his sister's family while her husband is deployed. After another heart-breaking rejection by her father, Ryan is there to pick up the pieces.

The American theater was not ignorant of the developments brought on by World War II, and actively addressed and debated timely, controversial topics for the duration of the war, including neutrality and isolationism, racism and genocide, and heroism and battle fatigue. McLaughlin and Parry's work fills a significant gap in the history of theater and popular culture, showing that American society was more divided and less idealistic than the received histories of the WWII home front and the entertainment industry recognize.

Timothy R. White begins his history of the theater industry with the dispersed pre-Broadway era, when components such as costumes, lights, and scenery were built and stored nationwide. Subsequently, the majority of backstage operations and storage were consolidated in New York City during what is now known as the golden age of musical theater. Toward the latter half of the 20th century, decentralization and deindustrialization brought the emergence of nationally distributed regional theaters and performing arts centers.

Broadway’s most esteemed visionaries tell all - how they got started in the business, how they chose projects, how they raise money, why some of their shows were huge hits and others flopped, and much more. From Flo Ziegfeld and David Merrick, from Joseph Papp, from Cameron Mackintosh, from today’s up-and-coming new generation of producers - here are priceless words of wisdom.

In Niger, a coup that is staged and funded by ISIL puts a vicious leader in command. People are summarily slaughtered, the government is in shambles, and a terrorist regime rules with impunity. But deep inside the sublevel of a defunct hospital is the key to annihilation. It is a secret known only to the members of the ISIL regime and the Iran Ministry of Intelligence. The world is impotent to respond, and there seems to be no counteroffensive to stop the rogue efforts that could bring the world to its knees.

When John, a nine-year-old boy from 1966, hears his own voice whisper in his head, it ultimately leads to a psychotic break and the truth behind the visions in his mind. Meanwhile, Edward, another nine-year-old boy from 1914, is trapped by the tragic circumstances of his family’s secrets. Somehow, their lives are linked by tragedy, redemption, pain, and triumph in a 109-year-long journey that will take a toll on them both, teach them about a bond stronger than time, and change the future for so many others along the way.

Edward Zanni has been kicked out of drama school because he's just too "jazz hands" for Juilliard. He moves to New York City and lands a job working as a stealth guest at corporate parties. When he gets caught up in an insider trading scandal, his crew of theater friends comes to his rescue.

After losing her beloved grandpa Charlie to cancer, 14-year-old Alden Proctor moves from New York City to Michigan when her mother takes a job to save the Pantages Theatre, an old vaudeville house fated to be demolished. Few people recall the theatre’s prior existence. Well, few living people at least. But that’s all about to change.

It's 1991, and Tara Maureen Murphy is finally on top. A frightening cross between Regina George and Tracy Flick, Tara Maureen Murphy is any high school's worst nightmare. She's a senior, poised to star as Sandy in South High's production of Grease. Cinching the role is just one teensy step in Tara's plot to get out of her hometown and become the Broadway starlet she was born to be. It gets tricky with the arrival of freshman Matthew Bloom, whose dazzling audition for the role of Danny Zuko turns Tara's world upside down.

Albert Poland, legendary Broadway and Off-Broadway producer and general manager, presents Stages: A Theater Memoir.